Why Palmer thinks Lewis Hamilton must lean on Leclerc to close the gap at Ferrari

Speaking on BBC Chequered Flag podcast, Palmer said: “I think Lewis is over-driving quite often compared to what Max would do.

“That was something that George did last year against Lewis. I think George is really good at that – just adapting for what your car can do rather than chasing an optimum. Lewis is still chasing an optimum right now.”

Jolyon Palmer shares how Lewis Hamilton’s race weekend preparation is different from Max Verstappen’s

During an episode of the F1 Explains podcast, Palmer discussed the standard routines that drivers and engineers use to review and build on their performances after each race.

He pointed out that these routines can vary quite a bit between different driver/engineer pairings, using Hamilton and Verstappen as examples.

“They’ll probably just dial back in or they’ll have a phone call or whatever and catch up on things. And some drivers, they get very little out of it. If you take Max, for example, he probably hasn’t had to bother looking at a teammate’s data for a very long time because he’s learning nothing from it. He’s too quick for them.”

“Whereas you’ve got someone like Lewis, who’s come over from Mercedes to Ferrari, learning a new way of life, new car, got a new teammate as well who’s very quick.”

“So he’s probably pouring in more to try and get up to speed quicker, and he’ll be dialling a little bit more in between the races to make sure that he’s bang on it. It really depends on the driver.”

Lewis Hamilton struggling to find chemistry with his race engineer in Ferrari debut

One reason Hamilton hasn’t made the kind of impact many expected in his first season with Ferrari comes down to his working relationship with race engineer Riccardo Adami.

The two haven’t quite found a smooth rhythm in their communication throughout the year, raising questions about whether there’s enough chemistry between them to get the most out of each race weekend.

This has drawn comparisons to Hamilton’s time at Mercedes, where he enjoyed a strong partnership with Peter Bonnington that played a key role in his success there. The difference has been noticeable, especially given how important driver-engineer relationships are in modern F1.

Earlier this season, fans also recalled Sebastian Vettel’s past frustrations with Adami, suggesting that Ferrari’s communication issues might be more systemic than just a new pairing finding its feet.

Despite these ongoing issues, former Ferrari test driver Esteban Gutierrez believes Hamilton could still take a step forward next year as he becomes more settled into life at Maranello.